SHANA WITTENWYLER
ESPN/ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer accepts his award for Sports Executive of the Year.

ESPN President George Bodenheimer has distinguished himself among his peers by building a network synonymous with sports in the U.S. But the thing that set him apart from his peers in 2010 was spearheading the network’s much-praised coverage of an event held half a world away: the 2010 FIFA World Cup from South Africa.

All of ESPN’s networks earned a 31 percent ratings increase last summer. Its World Cup coverage not only won three Sports Emmys, but helped ESPN pull down three of the biggest awards at the 2011 Sports Business Awards. Bodenheimer was named Sports Executive of the Year, and ESPN was awarded Best in Sports Television and Best in Sports Media. The three honors represented the largest haul for any company in the four-year history of the awards.

In person, Bodenheimer always stresses teamwork and the people behind the network. Those comments took on added significance at the awards dinner, which came on a day that saw the release of highly charged excerpts from a controversial new book about ESPN. The book, “Those Guys Have All the Fun,” detailed many stories of ESPN employees behaving badly.

“On behalf of our 6,500 employees around the world, I dedicate and accept this award,” Bodenheimer said. “Their continuing efforts to produce world-class products around the globe never stops. They’re 6,500 good people, hardworking people, who every day work to push our mission of serving sports fans a little bit further.”

ESPN’s 2010 World Cup coverage played a huge part of its near sweep of the media awards. The company named the World Cup one of its top three priorities in 2010, and that emphasis paid big dividends over the summer as the event’s TV ratings increased 31 percent and viewership jumped 41 percent from 2006.

For ESPN, the World Cup wasn’t just about TV. It rolled out impressive 3-D and broadband applications. And it successfully delivered live coverage of the event on mobile phones, a precursor to its WatchESPN application. The World Cup drove major viewership on its ESPN3 platform, which had more than 7.4 million unique viewers.

SPORTS BUSINESS AWARDSJUDGES

For the first time, independent outside judges participated in the voting process this year. We invited executives in the sports business to sit on various committees. Earlier this month, the committees met and deliberated on 13 of the 15 categories. The following lists the outside judges on the respective committees. We want to thank them for their valuable insight during this process.

“I was proud of the job we did on the World Cup across all our media,” said John Kosner, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Digital Media.

In addition to the World Cup, ESPN signed a landmark carriage deal with Time Warner in 2010 that is considered by many to be one of the most forward-thinking deals in cable history. The deal led to ESPN creating two new channels and rolling out an authenticated service that allows Time Warner Cable subscribers to watch ESPN channels on their mobile phones and tablets.

ESPN’s work contributed to the recognition of at least one other winner. The University of Texas’ DeLoss Dodds was recognized as Athletic Director of the Year largely because of the 20-year, $300 million deal the school cut with ESPN to launch the Longhorn Network.

“The greatest memory I’ll have would be when ESPN walked in the door and offered us the money they offered and the scope of the network that they could bring,” Dodds said. “We wanted this to be different, to be for Texas, and ESPN will help us deliver that.”

On a night dominated by ESPN, one award was talked about afterward as being among the biggest surprises of the night.

The ING New York City Marathon became the first participatory event to be named Sports Event of the Year. The recognition put the event in the company of past winners like the Super Bowl and NHL Winter Classic. It came for a 2010 event that featured the largest starting field in the marathon’s history, 45,350 runners, and the participation of rescued Chilean miner Edison Peña.

“We had the biggest marathon ever,” said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of the New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon. “We’ve never been about being the biggest, we want to be the best. Our partners helped bring the stories to life. From Amani Toomer running with Timex to Jared Fogle running with Subway, all of our partners jumped in to take us to another level.”

Nearly four decades after beating Bobby Riggs in
arguably the most important sports event of the 20th
century, Billie Jean King says men and women still
come up to her with tears in their eyes to thank her.

The recipient of the 2011 Lifetime Achievement
Award from SportsBusiness Journal/Daily, King
told the packed Sports Business Awards show last
week that she is particularly proud of the effect the
match had on today's 40- and 50-year-old men, who
want equality for their daughters.

When King beat Riggs in the famous Battle of the
Sexes matches, she pointed out, women couldn't even
get credit cards on their own.

The pressure was immense on her to win, as if
all of the feminist movement's burdens fell on her
shoulders.

"I still wake up thinking I have not played that
match," she said, noting that she is quickly relieved
when she realizes it is long over.

King, of course, has done much more than defeat
Riggs. A tennis hall of famer, she founded the WTA
Tour and World TeamTennis and has long been an
advocate for kids playing sports.

She thanked in particular the late founder of IMG,
Mark McCormack, and the late Roone Arledge, the
ABC Sports head who put the Battle of the Sexes match
on the air. She also thanked her partner, Ilana Kloss,
the CEO and commissioner of WTT.

Chris Evert, who introduced King, said of her onetime
rival and longtime friend, "She is very unselfish
and is the wisest person I know." King has even given
child-rearing advice to Evert, the star recounted, even
though King has no kids. And King, Evert added with
a laugh, was always somehow right.

Leaving the stage, King made clear she's not finished with her life's work.

"If you are wondering," she said, "I am not done yet."

Highlights Of The Achievements Of Billie Jean King

Founder of the Women's Tennis Association (1973)

Founder of the Women's Sports Foundation (1974)

Founder of World TeamTennis (1974)

Became the first tennis player and first female athlete to be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (1972)

Life magazine named her one of the 100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century (1990)

Recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award (1999)

USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows was rededicated as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (2006)

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama (2009)

— Compiled by Brandon McClung

Chris Evert was the surprise presenter of the
Lifetime Achievement Award to Billie Jean
King. Ellen Merlo of Philip Morris (third photo,
middle) was cited by King as a major influence
in the sponsorship of women's sports.